Alumni News

Joe Lawless Named 2005 Alumnus of the Year

On May 13, Dr. Gregory Powell, President of Panola College, announced that Mr. Joe
Lawless had been selected by the Panola College Alumni Association as the 2005 Alumnus
of the Year. Mr. Lawless has been involved almost from its inception with Panola College
and has proven himself to be a true friend of the institution.

Mr. Lawless served from 1997 to 2003 on the Panola College Alumni Association Board.
He and his family have endowed numerous scholarships to benefit the next generation
of Panola College students and most recently, Lawless assisted Panola College with
its capital campaign to raise money to expand the M. P. Baker Library.

Joe Lawless was born July 15, 1929, in Pinehill, TX just a few miles west of Panola
County. He grew up in and around Northeast TX and Northwest LA., beginning elementary
school in Price (Carlisle), TX in 1935 and completing high school in Greenwood, LA
in 1946.

Lawless worked in the oilfields as a roughneck, and in construction as an ironworker
until 1949 when he enrolled at Panola College. That year, Joe and 197 other students
enrolled at the fledgling institution.

Joe was a good student and active in a variety of campus activities. As a member of
the 1950 Men’s Basketball team, Lawless, playing Center position, helped the Ponies
defeat the State Champion Lon Morris Bearkats by a score of 55-45. Lawless was also
the Business Manger for The Pony, Panola College’s annual yearbook. In 1950, The Pony staff produced the College’s first yearbook.

In the fall of 1950, 178 students enrolled for classes. That year Lawless served as
class president. When asked to comment, Lawless said, “I was president of the graduating
class in 1951. I can well remember because I had to give a speech graduation night.
E.M. Adams wrote it for me, and I memorized it word for word. I even practiced it
on our chickens out in the chicken yard. I was scared to death but made it through
OK.”

After graduating from Panola College, Mr. Lawless continued his education at Louisiana
Tech where he earned a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1954. While at LA Tech
he was inducted into the Engineering Honor Society, Tau Beta Pi. Tau Beta Pi is the
only engineering honor society representing the entire engineering profession. It
is the nation's second-oldest honor society, founded at Lehigh University in 1885
to recognize students of distinguished scholarship and exemplary character.

Lawless was also invited to join Phi Kappa Phi, an honor society that draws its members
from all academic disciplines within colleges and universities. It is a more than
100-year-old organization made up of the best and brightest from all academic disciplines.

In June, 1954 Lawless began work for Humble Oil and Refining Co in East Texas. He
spent 32 years as an Engineer and Operations Supervisor before retiring in August,
1986 and moving to Grand Isle, LA. Later he moved back to his native roots at DeBerry,
TX.

In 1989, Lawless was called back into service as a consultant for Exxon during the
oil spill cleanup in Alaska. Lawless has spent about 75% of the last 19 years consulting
with Exxon, now ExxonMobil, in Alaska, Egypt, California, Norway, Holland, West Africa,
Australia, and Houston.

Lawless has been married to wife Amy Eaves since 1952. They have one son, one daughter-in-law,
two grandsons, and two granddaughters-in-law. Their grandson Craig Michael and his
wife Tiffany Collins Lawless are recent graduates of Panola.

Panola College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award associate degrees and certificates of completions. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Panola College.

Panola College is an Equal Opportunity Institution that provides educational and employment opportunities on the basis of merit and without discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, disability, or genetic information.

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